Miami Dolphins players react to the dismissal of Chad Johnson

DAVIE — Karlos Dansby was the first Miami Dolphins to respond publicly to the decision to release Chad Johnson after he was arrested for domestic violence.

Dansby later told reporters after the Dolphins' Monday practice to refer to his original comments, which he made to Sid Rosenberg on 640-AM Sports.

“Man, it’s going to be a bigger distraction now because we let him go,” Dansby said. “He was gonna be our guy. We had to stand behind him even though the situation came about. I just hate the fact he didn't get that third strike and that's just me personally.

"That's just how I am, you know. I think we've been through worse. We've seen worse. I'm not condoning him putting his hands as they aledgeldy said he had on his wife. That's not Chad. If anybody knows Chad that's not Chad. I think he came in and proved that to a lot of people.

"...That's what I'm upset about is that he didn't get that third strike. If you know the man, that's not him. Man don't drink, man don't smoke. He might clown around, but when it comes to football that's his life."

Dolphins first-year coach Joe Philbin said he spoke with the team Sunday about Johnson. In terms of the decision to cut Johnson loose, he read from a prepared statement. He also made it clear he would not be the one to air out the team's issues publicly.

"You have a boss, I have a boss," Philbin said. "I don't always agree with what the boss says every single time. I'm of the opinion you should keep things in house in that regard."

Johnson was with the Dolphins for 62 days. He worked his way up to the first-team offense and started Friday's 20-7 loss to Tampa Bay, but missed catching the only ball thrown his way.

One place he clearly made an impact was in the Dolphins' locker room.

"He's a great guy," defensive lineman Jared Odrick said. "I wish the best for him.

"You know what you're getting into with Coach Philbin and the Miami Dolphins," Odrick said. "It's something we're all apart of as a team, and we're all onboard."

Odrick was asked if he agreed the Dolphins have to hold themselves to a higher standard?

"Yeah, I think every man has to have a set of standards whether you're a football player or not," Odrick said. "I try to do that every day. I try to set the highest expectations upon myself. If you don't have the highest expectations for yourself then you should change yourself."

Dolphins linebacker Cameron Wake, as most other players asked, tried to keep their comments away from discussing their opinion of the football decision.

Then he was asked if he would miss Johnson.

"That's football," Wake said. "You're always gonna miss the guys you played with. At the end of the day, your friends aren't gonna help you win football (games). We're football players, and he's not on the team right now so we're moving forward."